Support
by promise101
Summary: Both Fitz and Mellie are shot at Fitz' birthday gala. One doesn't survive (Olitz is endgame so pretty obvious who does). What will Olivia do?
1. Chapter 1

5 gunshots were heard in the plaza in quick succession. The president was down but immediately he was whisked away in the presidential limo. It was not until the limo was out of sight that the Secret Service went to secure the First Lady. She had hit the deck pretty quickly with the assistance of a Secret Service Agent but unfortunately not chick enough. A bullet had hit her in the chest. The two Secret Service agents picked her up and took her to the presidential ambulance which was empty. The ambulance sped off to James Madison Hospital.

Xxxx

Olivia and Edison arrived at the plaza and Edison was briskly secured by Secret Service agents leaving Olivia to figure out what was going on. At that moment her phone buzzed, it was Cyrus.

"Liv, hes been shot. Come to James Madison"

She momentarily stopped breathing. No, no, no, he couldn't die, he couldn't leave her. She jumped back in the limo and directed the driver to James Madison. All the possible outcomes played like a movie in her head and she shed silent tears.

When she arrived she was cleared for security and went straight to Cyrus. They both watched and Fitz and Mellie were pushed on separate cards straight passed them.

"Mellie was shot too?" Olivia asked. Cyrus nodded.

"Karren and Jerry. Where are they? Do they know?" she asked.

"Marine one is bringing them over as we speak. But no, they don't know I don't think. They were picked up as soon as it happened so I assume they havnt had a chance to look a the news"

"What about Mellie's parents?" she said

"I have spoken to them. Her father is not well enough to travel by air so they will get here by car as soon as possible"

They walked to the aptly named waiting room where they waited for news. Olivia was pacing in circles around the room, for what felt like hours. After about an hour two doctors came out to speak to them. Cyrus stood up as they approached. The male doctor on the left looked solemn.

"I am Doctor French. I am one of the First Lady's doctors. We are still working on her, but there was a lot of damage, it isn't looking very hopeful."

"And the baby?" Olivia asked.

"The baby is currently ok but we may have to take him out during the course of the surgery. He is 33 weeks along so there could be some complications with his lungs, but we can give him hormones to develop his lungs if we need to. Who is her next of kin?"

Cyrus answered "Well usually the president, so I imagine it is her parents who are on their way. They will hopefully be here within the hour." The doctor nodded his head.

They both shifted their attention to the female doctor.

"I am doctor Angeles. The bullet penetrated his head and is lodged in his brain. We are currently working to remove the bullet but it is a delicate procedure for obvious reasons so it will take some time."

"Thank you doctors. Please keep us updated" Said Cyrus.

As the doctors walked away, four secret service agents rounded the corner with Karren and Jerry. They looked slightly confused.

"Has mum had the baby?" Karren asked.

"No Karren. She hasn't." Olivia said. "Guys, why don't you come sit down" she gestured to two seats. They sat in the seats, while Olivia pulled up a chair to sit directly infront of them. She cleared her throat before she told them one of the scariest things they might ever hear.

"There was a shooting at the gala." She said slowly, gauging their reactions as she went. "Both your mum and dad were hit".

"What? Are they ok?" asked Jerry. Karren was silent.

"They are both in surgery at the moment."

"What about the baby?" Karren said so softly it was barely audible.

"The baby is ok at the moment."

They both sat back in their seats. Jerry ran his hand through his hair, reminding her of Fitz, then began tapping his foot. Karren was crying, silently for now. Jerry looked over and put his arm around her when he saw she was crying. She leaned onto his shoulder.

"Your grandparents will be here very soon hopefully" Olivia said as she stood up. Giving them a fleeting smile. She then proceeded to lead Cyrus out of the room. They stood on the other side of the glass of the waiting room watching Karren and Jerry. They stood there letting them process this for themselves.

About half an hour later Olivia walked into the room with four hot chocolates, some sandwiches and a packet of lollies. Each child smiled up at Olivia. She sat next to Karren, but did not speak. A few moments later, Mellie's parents were escorted into the room. Karren and Jerry were quick to greet them.

"Karren, Jerry, why don't you go grab two more hot chocolates for your grandparents?" she handed them $20. The two walked off.

Olivia motioned for them to sit down and explained the situation to them. If on cue, Doctor French rushed out and over to them.

"Are you the next of kin?" he asked.

"Yes. We are her parents" Mellie's mother responded.

"I am so sorry to inform you that your daughter suffered too much damage to her heart. We could not save her." Mellie's mother began crying.

"I am sorry to be insensitive but as next of kin, we need authorization from you to remove the baby. There is a small window to do this so we need your oral go ahead right now"

"Of course, of course."

"I am so sorry for your loss. I will come back and speak to you shortly."


	2. Chapter 2

The group had been mostly quite for about half a hour, with Olivia and Cyrus coming in and out of the room to take calls and arrange things. Upon one of Olivia's returns she addressed Mellie's parents.

"Mr and Mrs Nash, I have just called over to the White House and they have had another room set up in the residence for your use. You may stay there as long as you need."

"Thank you Ms Pope, we really appreciate it. We will need to head there soon as Bill is getting quite tired, and honestly so am I."

"Just let me know when you want to leave and I will have a car brought over for you" Mrs Nash nodded in response.

Olivia then pulled Cyrus out of the room to speak with him.

"Cyrus, who has their wills?" Cyrus looked at her incredulously.

"You mean where is Mellie's will?"

"No, I mean both of their wills. Where are they? I know you don't want to think about it, but Mellie's parents would not be up to taking all three kids at their age, and it wouldn't be fair to ask them to."

"Your right. They are at the White House. I will go and get them." And Cyrus left.

Olivia re-entered the room and sat down next to the kids. "Do you guys need anything?" They both just shook their heads.

Olivia stayed sitting next to them until Doctor French entered the room. Everyone looked up. While solemn, there was something in Doctor French's eyes.

"The baby was given hormones early enough that he has not had any troubles breathing. He will have to stay here for a while, mainly for observation as he was a little bit early, but he should be just fine. I understand that it must be very bittersweet for you today, but if you would like to see him, that can be arranged."

While everyone else in the room was considering what they wanted, Karen stood up and said "I want to see him, if that's ok". This seemed to make up everybody else's minds for them. The family walked off, leaving Olivia. She walked up to the nurses station and asked for an update on Fitz. But all she got was the standard "he is still in surgery, the doctors will update you when they can" which infuriated her. She began pacing in circles around the waiting room. She was thinking about what happens next, but it was all too painful.

Mellie's parents and the kids soon returned. They all looked more exhausted than when they left. Karen had been crying. Olvia walked up to her and started patting her back, trying to be comforting. "You ok" she asked. Karen only nodded.

Mr and Mrs Nash advised Olivia that they were ready to leave. "Karen, Jerry, why don't you go with your grandparents, I promise I will let you know when I hear anything" she said with a weak smiled. Her hand still on Karen's back, surprisingly Karen wrapped her arms around Olivia for a quick hug and said "Thanks Olivia".

Conveniently, Cyrus was on his way back from the White House, so they took his car back. Olivia entwined her arm with his as they walked back to the waiting room. "Did you get them?" she asked.

She sat down and he handed her two envelopes. The first was Mellie's will. Hers was the standard, excluding anything referred to in the pre-nup, everything went to Fitz. The guardian she had appointed for the children was her parents which would have been completely acceptable if there wasn't a baby in the mix. They could easily have taken custody of Karen and Jerry, but a baby was too much for them, and she was sure they wouldn't want the children split up. She placed Mellie's will back in the envelope and took out Fitz'. She assumed they would be reciprocal wills, but to her surprise, they were not. His will was much more detailed. Everything was more or less left to Jerry and Karen. Except his Vermont property and his presidential pin. They were left to her. She looked up at Cyrus confused. "Vermont?" Cyrus shook his head suggesting he had no idea what that was. His guardian provision was somehow excluded. How had two of the most intelligent people she knew, and qualified lawyers, failed to include an alternative guardian provision in their wills.

She put the will back in the envelope. As she did the doctor came in. They both stood up in anticipation. Doctor Angeles spoke "He is out of surgery, he has a lot of swelling. We wont know the damage until the swelling subsides. We will be keeping him in an induced coma until the swelling has reduced. After we assess the damage we will decide our next steps."

Cyrus responded "How long will that take?"

"We cannot be certain, the brain is a very unique thing, every one is different, we just have to wait. It could be 2 weeks, it could be 2 months." Said the doctor. Olivia covered her mouth to hide her sob, and sat down into her seat.

"Thank you doctor" said Cyrus. He sat down next to her and grabbed her hand "Liv, we need to make a statement". She looked up at him. Knowing he was right she wiped the tears from her face, cleared her throat and sat up straight. "Yes, we do" she said. She quickly texted Karen and Jerry so they wouldn't feel like the last ones to find out when they made the statement. They spent the next 10 minutes working on a brief statement to the press that awaited outside.

Olivia stood up at the podium out the front of the hospital in her gown. The press fell completely silent anticipating her words.

"As you would be aware, earlier this evening at the President's birthday gala, both President Grant and Mrs Grant received gun shot wounds from an as yet unidentified person. Both were rushed her to James Maddison Hospital.

It pains me to announce that at approximately 8pm, Mrs Grant passed away. Her baby was delivered safely prior to her passing and is stable.

President Grant was taken into surgery. He is stable. He is currently in an induced coma until the swelling in his brain subsides, at which point the doctors will reassess his situation.

All further updates will come from a James Maddison official, and all questions on the circumstances of the shooting are directed to the FBI. Please bare with us at this difficult time. Goodnight. "

There was no rush of questions that followed, no incessant flashing. The press had respected her honesty and the loss of life.

_Please review. It gives me strength to carry on. Any suggestions are welcomed too :)_


	3. Chapter 3

Neither Olivia or Cyrus went home that night.

Fitz was in a private ICU so they pretty much stayed with him the whole night. Two chairs were on either side of his bed and they each claimed one that night. Tom had brought in blankets for them both.

When Olivia woke up an hour or so later she felt very stiff, so quietly left the room to loosen up a bit. She wasn't very familiar with the hospital so was unsure how she found herself in the maternity/nursery ward. She spotted Daniel, the Secret Service Officer Agent often assigned to Fitz, and began walking towards him. She didn't even think what he was doing there until she saw the little bundle all wrapped up on the other side of the glass. She almost shed a tear. He was so little and so alone. She was thankful that his health was less of a concern than his fathers. She hated to think of him being sick too, with no parents to be with him.

"Daniel" she said with a nod.

"Ms Pope" he responded.

She looked back at the tiny baby and realization hit her. She was seeing him before his own father. That broke her heart. She knows how much Fitz loves his children, and while he was not aware of it, it would break his heart to know all he is missing.

A nurse walked up to her and cleared her throat. "I am sorry Ms but you shouldn't be here"

"It is ok nurse, she is cleared" Daniel said to the nurse. The nurse looked at Daniel and back to Olivia "In that case, why don't you come in. He needs to be held, he hasn't been held enough in his short life".

Olivia was hesitant, but one glance at that boy and she gave in. She cautiously stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "Have a seat" the nurse said, gesturing to the rocking chair in the corner. Olivia sat.

The nurse did her hourly check of pulse, etc. When she was finished she picked up the tiny baby and placed him gently in Olivia's arms. The tear she held back originally, fell from her eyes. She wished that this was Fitz, she wanted to capture the moment for him. She puled her phone from her pocket and tried to take a photo of the little boy when the nurse asked "would you like me to take it for you" Olivia handed her the phone, she was just at a bad angle to take a good photo.

Before she knew it the nurse handed the phone back to her with a smile. She looked at the photos, there was a gorgeous one of the baby, close up and one of Olivia looking adoringly down at said gorgeous boy.

She held him for another five minutes or so before asking the nurse for a hand to put him back in his bed.

She wandered solemnly back to where Fitz was. When she got there Cyrus was still asleep. She sat back in her chair and tried to rest her eyes a little more. Olivia woke again to a nurse checking on Fitz at about 7am.

She had had her phone off all last night so that she wouldn't be disturbed for just a while. She turned it on and a flood of messages came through, many being missed calls from reporters or unidentified sources, and a lot from her team. She sent a group message back to her team saying "I am fine, might need you guys today".

About an hour later she got a message from Huck saying he was in the lobby of the hospital. She walked down to greed him.

"What are you doing here huck?" she said.

"I knew you probably wouldn't leave for a while so I picked up some clothes and your laptop for you." He said handing her the things he had brought. She smiled weakly.

"Thanks Huck".

His eyes were even sadder, looking at her, than they normally were, if that waseven possible. He loved her, and knew that she loved the man lying unconscious somewhere in the building.

Olivia looked into those sad eyes trying to understand. When he moved his weight slightly she realized why he was looking at her like that. He knew.

She swallowed and pursed her lips "Huck" she tried to begin to say something. She wasn't sure really what she wanted to say, justify or deny but he didn't give her a chance.

"Liv, it's ok" he said with a very weak smile. He just wanted her to know he was there for her. After a few moments of comfortable silence Huck turned on his heels and walked away.

Olivia returned to Fitz's room to find Cyrus awake. "Liv, we need to get to the white house. Now" he said motioning to the television that was on, muted, but with subtitles. Sally Langston was sitting at the resolute desk debriefing the country on the events of the last 10 hours. Olivia turned to Cyrus and they both picked up their things and left the room. Olivia didn't want to leave, she never wanted him to leave her when he did, but it was her time to leave him now. She hesitated at the door and quickly walked back to his side and kissed his forehead ever so softly. Cyrus waited as she walked back into the room. After a few moments though he knocked lightly on the door. She turned around, cleared her throat and they exited the hospital. They swung by Cyrus' house so he could pick up some fresh clothes.

When they arrived at the White House it was eerily quiet. There were still people walking and running around, but there was a stillness in the air she put down to the grief of the nation, contained in one big house.

They proceeded straight to the Oval Office to talk to Sally. Cyrus barges in first of course with Olivia close behind.

"What is all this?" Cyrus demanded looking at the resolute desk, where all Fitz' personal belongings had been replaced by Sally's. She hadn't wasted any time.

"Cyrus, to be an effective President, one must be comfortable." She said in a clam tone.

"You. Are. Not. The. President." Cyrus said while stamping his foot.

Sally raised both her eyebrows at his statement. "The President was shot. He is in a coma. America needs leadership. The world needs leadership. And as Vice President, that honor lies with me."

Olivia had been quiet but right now her gut was telling her there was something off about this. Honor? Did she mean burden? Cyrus seemed to pick up on this wording but for different reasons.

"Honor, Sally? It is an honor to be able to sit here and act like the most powerful person in the world has been shot and you are second fiddle. That is an honor." He said sarcastically. Sally's patience was running thin.

"Have you come here only to insult me or is there substance to your visit?" she requested. Cyrus really just needed to vent so at that he turned on his heels and left the room. Olivia followed closely behind. As Olivia was closing the door behind her she glanced back at Sally in time to see a smug smile come across her face. Olivia didn't like this. She furrowed her eyebrows and closed the door. Cyrus was now out of sight, but she knew he would be heading to his office.

She was about 20m from Cyrus' office when she heard a door slam loudly making Olivia jump slightly. He was upset, but to those who didn't know him he just looked angry. When she reached his assistants desk she asked for her to bring some coffee and leave it on her desk after she knocked on the door. She then walked in to Cyrus' office. He was sitting on his couch with his head in his hands. He didn't look up when she entered as he knew she would be the only one game to come in right now.

"Cy" she said sitting down next to him and rubbing his back.

He looked up at her trying to wipe the few tears he had shed before she noticed. She noticed. "Someone shot my best friend" Cyrus said looking at Liv. If anyone knew how he felt it was her. She gave him a weak smile, trying to be strong, trying not to break down. She linked her arm with his and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat there for a few minutes until there was a knock on the door. Knowing they could both use a coffee she wen out to retrieve them.

After they had both had some coffee Cyrus spoke "So what is the plan?"

"Cy. We have to be realistic. There isn't really anything we can do. The purpose of the Vice President is to fill his position if he is incapacitated and Fitz is" her throat caught the next words. She didn't need to finish her sentence.

"Ill start packing." He said getting to his feet.

"Im not sure that is a good idea either" she started. "This isn't permanent. We don't want people loosing faith. Put Sally's administration in the First Lady's office. A constant reminder of why they are here in the first place but not too far from the Oval. Speaking of the First Lady's office, I need to go over there to discuss a funeral, and go check on the kids." She thought aloud.

They drank the rest of their coffees together discussing a number of different things. When they were done Olivia left Cyrus' office.

The first thing she did when she left Cyrus' office was ring Huck. He answered on the second ring. "Liv?"

"Huck, I need you to look into Sally Langston" She said as quietly as possible while allowing Huck to hear what she said. "Her activities of the last few months."

"Ok" was all Huck said.

_**Thanks for the reviews. Im a law student so have very little spare time and prefer to put up a couple of chapters, not just one so bear with me. Keep the reviews coming!**_


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